Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy, known locally as a Vancleave Special, is made with seasoned, thin crab patties, served on po'boy bread with mayonnaise, cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and pickles. Add a cup of gumbo and a cold Barq's root beer in the bottle.

Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy

It rained long yesterday, ahead of a cold front that will be bringing some welcomed lower humidity and temperatures for a day or three again. I love a good rainy day though, especially now that I work from home and don't have to make that 60-mile, round trip commute on a dangerous interstate highway. Honestly, with a legal career that was already stressful enough, the stress started well before I got there with that drive most days. It was a fine paying job, and I really enjoyed my work until Hurricane Katrina took it away, but honestly, there are so many things that I really don't miss about it anymore.

So today, I'm bringing you a Deep South favorite that I wrote about in my column a few months back at Eat. Drink. MISSISSIPPI magazine. If you're a Mississippian, I hope that you'll check out the magazine, because J.J. and the rest of the real journalists there (which I am not), do a mighty fine job bringing all things foodie from my home state to light. My food bucket list has gotten far more interesting since reading that magazine! Be sure to like their Facebook page too.

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who has lived around Biloxi for any length of time who has not heard of a Vancleave Special. The sandwich is believed to have originated in the late 1940s, at the old Rosetti's café, now long gone, but once located on the corner of Myrtle Street and East Howard Avenue in Biloxi, at the foot of the original War Memorial Bridge that crossed over the Biloxi Bay into Ocean Springs. Y'all pretty much know that area now as Casino Row if you've ever visited Biloxi.

The joining of the two cities at that time brought new life to the Point Cadet area of Biloxi by literally bridging the landlocked peninsula of Biloxi to her sister cities to the east. As the story goes, Kipp Dees, a customer of Rosetti’s, who happened to be from the Vancleave area across the bridge, one day requested something that wasn't on the menu - a crabmeat po’boy with cheese. It caught the eye of the owner who put his own slant to it by melting that cheese, and eventually added it to the menu, calling it the Vancleave Special Po'boy. At $1.75, "it was the most expensive sandwich that Mr. Rosetti sold," Dees was quoted as saying in a 2001 The Sun Herald feature. "I'm mighty proud of that sandwich."

Though the name was initially associated with Rosetti’s, the combination quickly spread across the Gulf Coast where you could order it by name pretty much anywhere that served po’boys, and the server would know exactly what you wanted.

The official Vancleave Po'boy Special of Rosetti's is long gone now, and nobody seems to still have, know, remember, or is willing to share the original crab patty recipe that Rosetti's used, so this is my own recipe, written in the style of the Vancleave Special.

Made with the classic combination of seasoned crab with some type of breading, a mixture more typically used to make deviled crab, crab cakes, or used as a stuffing for other seafood, the patties for the po'boy are formed into thinner, more oval shapes that fit nicely on po’boy bread. Don't bother to use the expensive lump or jumbo lump crab for these though, as this is the perfect place to use the lesser expensive claw crabmeat instead.

The patties are then pan-fried, placed onto po’boy bread, topped with cheese, and served dressed and pressed, meaning it is garnished with the usual suspects of mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and often pickles. The po'boy is then toasted, typically in a commercial sandwich press, but often just pressed in a skillet. Unlike our neighbors to the west, the pressing of po’boys is traditional here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It gives the bread a crisp outer bite, while retaining the tender inner crumb of the French bread.

The traditional way to serve this po’boy, is with a hot cup of seafood gumbo on the side and an ice cold Barq's root beer, preferably in the bottle. A small side of fresh, hot French fries is a pretty common addition also.

I know the list of ingredients appears a bit daunting, but it's really not ... that's mostly seasonings you're seeing, and it makes for a well-flavored crab patty. They can also be made ahead and frozen. Just form the patties, dredge in flour and line them up on a parchment covered baking sheet, freezing until solid. Transfer to a zipper freezer bag and they'll be ready for whenever you're in the mood for a po'boy! Just place them frozen into hot oil and brown.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion, bell pepper and celery; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the green onion and garlic; cook another minute. Stir in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Toast the bread slices, remove crust and reserve for another use. Sprinkle each piece of toast with water to dampen and set aside in a bowl. Let rest for 2 minutes. Pick through the crabmeat to check for any stray shell; set aside. Squeeze all of the water out of the bread and add the bread, crab and lemon juice to the vegetable mixture; gently mix, taste and adjust seasonings. Add the beaten egg.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and set aside. Place flour in a pie plate. Use an ice cream scoop to measure out the crab mixture, then shape into thin, oval patties. Dredge patties in flour, lightly coating on both sides. Set tray in refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer, until needed. Can also freeze at this point.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and cook crabmeat patties until browned and crisped on both sides, adding additional oil as needed. Split French bread lengthwise and cut to desired size. Butter cut sides and place into a separate griddle pan or large skillet over medium high heat until cut sides are toasted. Add mayonnaise to the bottom half of the bread. Top with cheese, crabmeat patties, and top half of the bread; place back into the skillet, using a spatula to press down on the po'boy as it toasts. Flip and turn, pressing, until outsides are nicely toasted and cheese is melted. Remove, open and dress with sliced tomato, shredded lettuce and sliced pickles, or with a pickle spear on the side. Serve immediately.

Cook's Notes: Great when served with a cup of seafood gumbo and fresh, hot french fries. You can use any good French bread, though I prefer Leidenheimer brand po’boy bread for these, which is a thinner and longer Louisiana-made French bread, intended especially for po'boys. It is packaged with two thin loaves per bag; each loaf can serve up to 4, depending on the size po’boy you prefer. Reisings is also a good brand.

Minis: These make perfect minis for a party. Shape patties to fit small pistolette French rolls.

To Freeze: Form the patties, dredge in flour and line them up on a parchment covered baking sheet, freezing until solid. Transfer to a zipper freezer bag and use within 3 months for best flavor. Cook frozen patties in hot oil.

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This sounds great! I used to get the crab poboy at the Mary Mahoney's take out restaurant in Gulfport/Biloxi prior to Katrina when I visited my sister. I LOVED that sandwich! I am eager to try this recipe to fulfill that craving that I've had for it all of these years!!

Adele, my Mama worked as a cook a Mahoney's Cafe for years - she might have been the one to cook that po'boy for you at least once!! I hope that you give my version and try and let me know what you think!!

Oh WOW!!! That's so neat to hear! Who knows??!!! I'm sure I'll be dining on this very soon! BTW...I really enjoy your FB posts and Pins on Pinterest. I'm from Baton Rouge and so many of them take me back to my roots!!

When i was growing up ,we lived 2 blocks away from Rosetti,s and belive me that was the best food in town . I went there to eat many times . Mr Rosetti put his heart in every dish . Thoes were the days !!!

When i was growing up ,we lived 2 blocks away from Rosetti,s and belive me that was the best food in town . I went there to eat many times . Mr Rosetti put his heart in every dish . Thoes were the days !!!

Would you happen to have a recipe for Po'Boy bread? Can't find any ready made where I live. I might just have to eat these without any bread. My family and I have loved every recipe of yours I've made! Three of your recipes are included on my menu plan this week. Nope make that four. Thank you Mary!

Hi Meredith! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I needed to hear it so thanks!

I have a French roll recipe here that is excellent. I know that you can get a good full size single loaf out of that recipe too, but I actually just bought a double French bread baking pan that I'm gonna see if I can get two nice loaves out of that recipe so stay tuned!

Thanks Larry! I actually took a lot more shots but I got a little windy in the post so I left them out. It's a great crab patty & one of my top favorite po'boys!! When we get a po'boy out, it's almost always shrimp or crab and cheese.

I see that you were traveling again. You are so blessed to be able to do that. Thanks for stopping by!

The sandwich originator you mention, Kipp Dees, was my uncle...my mom's brother. That Dees family was from Vancleave, and many of the relatives still live there. Kipp passed just a couple of years ago but, all his life, he rightly enjoyed crowing about his creation!

My name is Polly Rosetti Meaut. My grandparents owned Rosetti's. The original Vancleave special was not made with crab cakes . The crabmeat was cooked in big pans like a dressing /casserole.The cheese was what made it a Vancleave special.

Hi Polly! If you will read the post, you'll see that this isn't any claim to the original "recipe" - it is just my home version of a crabmeat and cheese po'boy with a tribute to the original. Thanks for stopping by though & I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday.

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